System Upgrade

Hello all. I'm resuming my WoW career after a short hiatus, and I'd like to resolve some issues I've been having with FPS in raids and such. I'm looking to increase the performance of my game while not spending very much money (I'm on a relatively tight budget, I'd rather not spend over $200). The FPS I attain while in 25 mans, while not completely unplayable on low settings, is definitely something that annoys me while trying to heal through the tough fights. My system specs are as follows:

Can anybody help me with what upgrades I should make and point me in the right direction for purchasing the items? I'm not a professional when it comes to computers, but I'm far from a beginner (the almighty Google knows all lol).

System Upgrade

what type of pus do you have? does it have a 6pin connector? whats the wattage?

for a 200 dollar buget probably the best you can do is gpu + more ram

if your psu cant handle a more beefy gpu, new PSU + new gpu

does your mobo support xfire or sli?

I looked up the part number on the power supply and it says that its a 280W (I'm now aware that I'll have to upgrade this). The connector is a 4 pin, but I'm reading that there are adapters readily available for most Gcards. As for your question of whether it supports xfire and/or sli, I'm having trouble finding our just how to attain that information. I can't locate the serial number on the mobo to look up the specs (probably on the underside of the mobo)....is there an easy way to find this info? I don't know if this is saying much or not, but there are 4 open slots located on the mono (2 short and 2 long).

First off, you have way too little RAM for 2012 standards. Your CPU has wet dreams of WoW raids smoothly, but knows it will never happen. Is that some sort of integrated GPU? Anyway, it's not meant for gaming.

Want something for 200 dollars that will run WoW about 10 times better?

A cheap FM2 motherboard and an A10-5800K. Spend 40 dollars more and get 8GB ram and you'll be fine. Remember to clock the ram up to 2100+ mhz or your integrated gpu will absolutely suck.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm going to head out to a local computer shop to see what kind of deals they have to offer on a new card and power source, but if they don't have anything decent I guess I'll be sitting here waiting for parts to ship ;-)

I'm going to have to say trying to upgrade that system will be like throwing money in a fire, it'll last very little and won't be worth it, just save a little more and get one of the barebones suggested above.

If I were to go with the barebones system, would I be able to switch components (Optical and Hard Drives) out of the rig I currently have? And wouldn't switching over the same HD simplify the process of installing the OS on the new rig?

Depends if you got SATA or those old SATA/IDE/flat cables. If the latter, i doubt you will find a MB with those kind of connections at this day and age. Besides, you should own a portable DVD Writer instead of installing one. It's a waste of space in 9/10 computers now a days.

Anyway, your only real performance upgrade would be: FM2 Motherboard. A10-5800K and OVERCLOCKED RAM. <--- That is extremely important to remember if you want to get a decent 1080p performance.

What you do is: 1. You overclock the RAM in bios to 2100+, save and reboot. 2. Download lates AMD drivers and software suite. 3. Overclock the iGPU as much as you possibly can. 4. Enjoy 20% better gaming performance compared to non OC'd and about 2570% better than what you currently have.
Do not clock the CPU though, it can interfere with your RAM clocks and actually take down your performance.

If I were to go with the barebones system, would I be able to switch components (Optical and Hard Drives) out of the rig I currently have? And wouldn't switching over the same HD simplify the process of installing the OS on the new rig?

If you want to do that, then yes, it will save you time re-installing your OS and your programs, but don't expect to be able to use your old HDD as the new boot drive smoothly, without making some 'preparations' first.

I'm saying this because I made the first mistake when I tried this many, many years ago. The result was that I ran into a lot of driver complications, as my old HDD thought it was using the same motherboard chipset, network, GPU and sound drivers for my old motherboard and the other components. I'd blame myself for being naive back then, hah.
So, I would uninstall all possible drivers from your old HDD, before you put it your new rig. Make sure you download all the latest drivers to a USB drive beforehand, and then install them on your HDD, which should do the trick.

For people that are saying he wont see anything by getting a video card are crazy. For one Wow is old as dirt they made it where computers like his will run it. I mean when wow first came out I don't even think his CPU was even out on the Market or if it was it just came out. You will see gains believe me. It does depend on what res your monitor is running on as well say you have a 17-20 inch monitor running at 1600X900 or less you will be fine for sure. I ran wow fine for years on a AMD 1.7 dual core with a 3850 card I know his cpu with a 7700 will be fine. I have built budget computers for friends that are running wow with Amd's and 7750s and 7770's that are doing good. Yeah he's not going to be able to max out everything on ultra but atm he probably has everything set to low. Just remember to turn off shadow and liquid detail as they put the most pressure on your gpu/cpu.

Thanks for the help, guys. I decided to double the RAM and pick up a new CPU, GPU, and PSU...basically my computer will only have the original motherboard. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for parts to arrive at my house lol.